Prairie student Wilkins helps Jefferson dominate swim meet

CEDAR RAPIDS - Within a few minutes of helping the Cedar Rapids Jefferson girls' swimming team win the J-Hawk Relays, Emma Wilkins had already thrown on her Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks T-shirt.

With no girls' swimming program at Prairie, Wilkins and a dozen of her Prairie classmates compete as Jefferson J-Hawks in the fourth year of the co-op agreement between the schools.

'I love swimming with the Jefferson team,” Wilkins said after the J-Hawks won eight of 10 relay events yesterday at Jefferson High School. 'It's really fun. We're all a team. We really don't consider each other from different schools as rivals.”

Wilkins anchored a win in the 300 backstroke relay in 3:42.97 and swam second in the three-person 600 free relay for another J-Hawk victory in 7:21.24. While the freshman enjoys her time competing with Jefferson, Wilkins holds out hope that Prairie will soon have a girls' swimming program to call its own.

'The schools are very old right now and that's mainly where the money is going,” Wilkins said. 'I don't know if we will (have a pool) by the time I graduate, but I hope that they get one in the future.”

Jefferson tallied 132 points, distancing itself from runner-up Williamsburg (96). Keokuk placed third with 26 points. Jefferson sophomore Taylor Langel swam first in three relay victories (600 free, 300 backstroke and 400 free).

'We've just been working really hard in practice with turns and relay exchanges and just all the little things that relay together,” Langel said. 'I think that really helped me starting out the relay, just going out really hard so I could help my team out.”

As the host school, Jefferson kids and coaches alike placed importance on and took pride in winning the event which bears their school's name.

'It's a great event, it's kind of fun,” Jefferson Coach Ryan York said. 'Everybody gets to do a variety of things and it focuses on the team which is hugely important in high school swimming.”

Jefferson junior Kate Canby, a diving state qualifier two seasons ago, helped the J-Hawks win the diving portion of the event. The J-Hawks were without Jaylee Chung, who is nursing a shoulder injury. York expects a quick return for the sophomore.

Senior Tessa McRoberts helped Williamsburg to a pair of wins by anchoring the 300 individual medley relay and beginning the 200 medley relay.

Jefferson will travel to undefeated Cedar Falls Tuesday before participating in next weekend's Cedar Rapids Kennedy Invitational. Williamsburg is at Cedar Rapids Washington Tuesday.

J-HAWK RELAYS

At C.R. Jefferson

Teams - 1. C.R. Jefferson 132, 2. Williamsburg 96, 3. Keokuk 26.

Diving - Jefferson (Kate Canby, Skyler Meyers, Chelsea Frank) 166.45

400 medley relay - Jefferson (Bailey Swartzendruber, Samantha Wesbrook, Bailee Anderson, Emily Wallace) 5:03.94

600 free relay - Jefferson (Taylor Langel, Emma Wilkins, Emily Stodola) 7:21.24

200 free relay - Jefferson (Wallace, Devon Mathew, Jessica Wesbrook, Olivia Oshel) 2:01.58

300 backstroke relay - Jefferson (Langel, Hannah Eckley, Wilkins) 3:42.97

300 IM relay - Williamsburg (Sarah McGrath, Megan Adam, Tessa McRoberts) 3:43.62

300 breaststroke relay - Jefferson (S. Wesbrook, J. Wesbrook, Kelby Swanson) 4:12.89

300 butterfly relay - Jefferson (Anderson, Eckley, S. Wesbrook) 3:54.87

400 free relay- Jefferson (Langel, Oshel, Swanson, Swartzendruber) 4:32.77

200 medley relay - Williamsburg (McRoberts, McGrath, Adam, Amaleah Weldon) 2:14.35

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com